Kyrgyzstan: Government Report Exposes Scale of Prison Torture

A recent report by Kyrgyzstan’s National Torture Prevention Center claims there had been 199 alleged instances of torture in 2015 in either prisons or other security centers similar to this Pre-Trial Detention Facility No. 1 in Bishkek, seen in 2010. (UNODC/Kuat Rakhimberdin)

When the police wanted to extract a confession out of K.D., they put a plastic bag over his head and injected in a pungent vinegar solution that made his lungs burn.

Such tales of abuse in police stations and penal facilities are commonplace in Kyrgyzstan. But what is unusual about this story is that it is one of many featured in an annual report authored by a government body. The 90-page document, published earlier in April by Kyrgyzstan’s National Torture Prevention Center, draws on interviews with 1,283 people who have spent time in either pre-trial detention facilities or prison.

Kyrgyzstan: Government Report Exposes Scale of Prison Torture

A recent report by Kyrgyzstan’s National Torture Prevention Center claims there had been 199 alleged instances of torture in 2015 in either prisons or other security centers similar to this Pre-Trial Detention Facility No. 1 in Bishkek, seen in 2010. (UNODC/Kuat Rakhimberdin)